Preppers

[2lazy2retire]

I wondered how long this post would run before the rednecks showed up - kinda like the zombies.

I'm curious, what part of being an engineer from the Midwest who has traveled to twenty five different countries and is currently working on an international assignment in South America equates to me being a redneck?

The fact that you think having an AR-15 lying around the house maybe

[jzb11]

The fact that you think having an AR-15 lying around the house maybe

It's wonderful that you're making valuable contributions to this thread from an educated and well informed position.

[Chuck]

I wondered how long this post would run before the rednecks showed up - kinda like the zombies.

I'm curious, what part of being an engineer from the Midwest who has traveled to twenty five different countries and is currently working on an international assignment in South America equates to me being a redneck?

For the record, I am also a gun owner, and a fan of the AR platform. I'm much closer to what you'd call "metro".

However, despite my familiarity with and fondness of the AR platform, I would rather use a shotgun inside of the home. Unmatched lethality under 10 yards, and substantially easier to hit a target with under stress. Then there's over penetration: I live in a row of townhouses.

A shotgun is much more punishing to shoot than an AR, is more likely to over pentrate than an AR, and has much less capacity as well. On penetration:

As for the rounds, with proper ammo selection the 5.56 rounds have less penetration of walls and barriers than some of today’s modern handgun ammunition. You can go up to some of the 70 grain TSX loads and still have less penetration than some of those hot pistol loads, and it’s going to expend a lot of energy through those intermediate barriers and start breaking up almost immediately - steve fisher - from the article.

I'm sorry, but this question has been tested repeatedly, and what I have said above is supported by those tests: http://www.theboxotruth.com/the-box-o-truth-14-rifles-shotguns-and-walls/

Even fragmenting rounds will penetrate four sheetrock walls easily. Likely more if they had set up more walls for the test. Only birdshot from a shotgun was safe to fire indoors without fear of massive over-penetration.

[2lazy2retire]

The fact that you think having an AR-15 lying around the house maybe

It's wonderful that you're making valuable contributions to this thread from an educated and well informed position.

No offence was meant, people just have different views on this stuff, I think having an AR-15 in the house is overkill - no pun intended. The fact that you think it's ok makes you a redneck in most of the civilized world - its not a judgment on you education or travel prowess but rather on your obsession with guns - hope that come across better.

thks

[Chuck]

No offence was meant

Bullshit

[Thegoblinchief]

I'm no moderator, but let's get back on track. Firearms threads are at-best an "agree to disagree" proposition.

I have a question for those further along in prepping: recommended water filtration for a family of 5?

I plan to store at least a few days worth of rotated tap water in Coleman 5 gallon water jugs but in my current house my long-term water outage options would be filtering rainwater off an asphalt roof or biking down to a river and filtering that.

[Chuck]

I'm no moderator, but let's get back on track. Firearms threads are at-best an "agree to disagree" proposition.

I have a question for those further along in prepping: recommended water filtration for a family of 5?

I plan to store at least a few days worth of rotated tap water in Coleman 5 gallon water jugs but in my current house my long-term water outage options would be filtering rainwater off an asphalt roof or biking down to a river and filtering that.

Filtering is very much an option. I would go so far as to say that it's (slightly) more important than a mid-term food supply. The gold standard for filters is Berkey http://www.berkeyfilters.com/

I did a demonstration once where I pissed into a filter (in the restroom) and then let it filter, and drank it. It performs as advertised.

[Thegoblinchief]

I've seen the Berkeys highly recommended in books and print articles, but there's a decent number of mixed user reviews on Amazon. Enough to give me pause before planning to rely on it, but then again I think all of the other filter options were even more mixed.

[Chuck]

I've seen the Berkeys highly recommended in books and print articles, but there's a decent number of mixed user reviews on Amazon. Enough to give me pause before planning to rely on it, but then again I think all of the other filter options were even more mixed.

Not to channel my former-salesman too strongly, but they have an excellent warranty and a reputation for customer service too. Test everything you purchase until it's perfect. Then you're good forever.

[mak1277]

I've seen the Berkeys highly recommended in books and print articles, but there's a decent number of mixed user reviews on Amazon. Enough to give me pause before planning to rely on it, but then again I think all of the other filter options were even more mixed.

Not to channel my former-salesman too strongly, but they have an excellent warranty and a reputation for customer service too. Test everything you purchase until it's perfect. Then you're good forever.

Why something like those Berkeys vs. something like a Sawyer Squeeze that you'd use for hiking water filtration and is (comparatively) cheap and ultra portable?

[jmusic]

I've seen the Berkeys highly recommended in books and print articles, but there's a decent number of mixed user reviews on Amazon. Enough to give me pause before planning to rely on it, but then again I think all of the other filter options were even more mixed.

Not to channel my former-salesman too strongly, but they have an excellent warranty and a reputation for customer service too. Test everything you purchase until it's perfect. Then you're good forever.

Why something like those Berkeys vs. something like a Sawyer Squeeze that you'd use for hiking water filtration and is (comparatively) cheap and ultra portable?

The hardcore person would say "both," but I think that having a hiking model in the "bug out bag" would suffice.

[jmusic]

I wondered how long this post would run before the rednecks showed up - kinda like the zombies.

I'm curious, what part of being an engineer from the Midwest who has traveled to twenty five different countries and is currently working on an international assignment in South America equates to me being a redneck?

For the record, I am also a gun owner, and a fan of the AR platform. I'm much closer to what you'd call "metro".

However, despite my familiarity with and fondness of the AR platform, I would rather use a shotgun inside of the home. Unmatched lethality under 10 yards, and substantially easier to hit a target with under stress. Then there's over penetration: I live in a row of townhouses.

A shotgun is much more punishing to shoot than an AR, is more likely to over pentrate than an AR, and has much less capacity as well. On penetration:

As for the rounds, with proper ammo selection the 5.56 rounds have less penetration of walls and barriers than some of today’s modern handgun ammunition. You can go up to some of the 70 grain TSX loads and still have less penetration than some of those hot pistol loads, and it’s going to expend a lot of energy through those intermediate barriers and start breaking up almost immediately - steve fisher - from the article.

I'm sorry, but this question has been tested repeatedly, and what I have said above is supported by those tests: http://www.theboxotruth.com/the-box-o-truth-14-rifles-shotguns-and-walls/

Even fragmenting rounds will penetrate four sheetrock walls easily. Likely more if they had set up more walls for the test. Only birdshot from a shotgun was safe to fire indoors without fear of massive over-penetration.

Now that I think about it, it's rather ludicrous to think that two panels of sheetrock could stop bullets at all, especially when most folks are going for the highest "stopping power..." 

Still, it's good information, and if that is a concern then it's definitely best to choose a pistol instead of a rifle, purely because of the lower energy.

[gimp]

>mfw already gun debate

[Retired To Win]

Any specific recommendations about sourcing the food without breaking the piggy bank?  For cash I've read that smaller bills are best (denominations of $5 thru $20), and coins are a waste of space unless they have melt value (as yours do).

Our food stash has 2 core sources: canned goods on sale from ye old grocery store (which we rotate), and specially packed/canned grains and dehydrated foods that come in restaurant-sized cans.  There are many suppliers of that type of item accessible off a google search.  Price compare and jump on the better deals.

Yes, smaller sized bills are better.  We have them in case that electric/electronic failure incapacitates ATM and other bank withdrawal systems (including the banks themselves staying closed due to emergency).

The silver dimes are for the may-never-happen-but-just-in-case possibility of the paper money's worth coming into question.  (And don't laugh: I once saw a country spring a new currency on its population by surprise and overnight, making the old currency no longer negotiable except for a very modest exchangeable amount.)

[sugarsnap]

I keep our backpacking gear current, organized and accessible. I need to store more water though.

[OSUBearCub]

My two cents from the land of hurricanes:

Just get the hell out of the way if you can.  Insure your material possessions properly, gas up the car, and go visit family until the storm blows over.  Hence, follow the age-old dad advice "keep your tank full".

Now, supposing you get blind-sided and stuck, everyone should have a 3 day kit of food, water, flashlights, etc. (http://www.ready.gov/build-a-kit)  If you live 100 miles from the nearest urban center, add a day or two of extra everything.  Emergency services will eventually get to you.

I wish we could give emergency services (including FEMA and the Red Cross) a tiny bit of credit.  Thousands of volunteers mobilize for every disaster just to come save our butts.  It's an imperfect system that has made mistakes but these folks truly care for your well being. 

Stop fretting about total government collapse (but plan for potential recessions - save more than you think you'll need and keep your investments diversified.) 

If you're a gun nut in an urban area, remember that there are kids, old ladies, ME living on the other side of your paper thin walls.  If you can hear your neighbors screwing, do you really think that wall is going to stop a bullet?  My trust in humanity extends to you not being an untrained jerk with a power complex.  Take a course (or three) and please lock up your firearms in peace time.

[Prairie Stash]

My storage is 23L carboys of water with an airlock, also used for wine of beer making when the mood hits. Dual purpose containers are the best. Like your coleman jugs, they can also be used for camping. 

Bleach from a laundry room for water purification, print off a recommended ratio (yay google) and tape it to the back of the laundry cupboard. Voila, you have prepped a rain barrels worth of water from your rooftop. Filtering is still a good idea, it makes the water nicer to drink. I've used coffee filters, cloth, etc. I've also drank rain and snow water as is, I don't mind a little grit at the bottom of the glass when I'm really thirsty.

The other easy trick is to make tea; it requires boiling the water, which disinfects, and the tea masks water impurities. It worked for my ancestors, they didn't have modern technology. Granted a lot of water sources were cleaner back then, I understand the modern day need as well.

I have a question for those further along in prepping: recommended water filtration for a family of 5?

I plan to store at least a few days worth of rotated tap water in Coleman 5 gallon water jugs but in my current house my long-term water outage options would be filtering rainwater off an asphalt roof or biking down to a river and filtering that.

[MicroRN]

Since I'm already debt free (renting though) and have a 'stache of $60K, I'm thinking that it would be prudent to take a few baby steps toward that mentality (though I fully realize that this particular rabbit-hole can go deep into "tin foil hat wearing nutzoid" territory).  Specifically, I'm thinking of building a 'stache of 15 days of food and water, a small amount of cash on hand, and don't let my gas tank below 1/2. 

Thoughts?

I'd consider that basic prudence, not tin-foil hat prepping.  I've lived in various places where we've lost power from ice storms, hurricanes, and blizzards, some people for 3-4 weeks.  I lived in the middle of town and had no water for 3 days when we had a water line rupture.  Something seems to happen about every 2 years.  Where I live now, we lose power regularly.  We have a generator, propane back-up heater, various cooking options (solid fuel backpacking stove + regular Coleman propane camp stove), lanterns, candles, and I keep a water and food supply for us and the animals.  We're on a 6 family shared well and all on septic, so I'm also considering a filtration system in case something like an earthquake happens to contaminate the well.   

Food-wise, I keep some options that require no heating (canned soup, Tasty-Bite indian food pouches, tuna), some Mountain House dehydrated food (we rotate those by eating them for camping).  We keep a gas can for the generator and specifically use it to power our deep freezer so we don't lose all that food.  We could also top up our cars with the gas.  While I have bulk rice/beans/oatmeal/flour and the like, those are part of our normal grocery shopping.  I just buy in bulk and rebuy early so we have plenty on hand.  We also keep an emergency bag in the vehicles with hand warmers, first aid kits, water, ponchos, emergency food bars, and other handy items.  Most of it has been useful at some point or another. 

My MIL, on the other hand, is a Prepper with a capital P.  If you find yourself stockpiling fish antibiotics and medical equipment that will be useless without a hospital to head for, please take a step back.   

[Syonyk]

If she's doing aquaponics as well, fish antibiotics might make sense...

I think a 30-60 day supply of food is reasonable, and not excessive.

I also need to work out details of getting my truck to power the fridge/freezer. :/  Might need a second alternator for that...

[Syonyk]

And winter in Alaska probably qualifies as an emergency in the lower 48 anyway...

[MicroRN]

If she's doing aquaponics as well, fish antibiotics might make sense...

She's really feels that the collapse of civilization is coming, and she'll need the antibiotics to treat herself if she gets sick.  Since docs won't prescribe antibiotics for stockpiles anymore, the hardcore preppers buy livestock or fish antibiotics.  She also has some EMS gear that doesn't make much sense to have if there's no higher level of care to transfer someone to.   

[frugalnacho]

So I've been on here awhile, but I just stumbled across another community that is all about preparing for disasters up to and including the breakdown of government.  It seems to me that they have a **FEW** things in common with the frugal mindset on here (self-reliance, and the aversion to debt).

Since I'm already debt free (renting though) and have a 'stache of $60K, I'm thinking that it would be prudent to take a few baby steps toward that mentality (though I fully realize that this particular rabbit-hole can go deep into "tin foil hat wearing nutzoid" territory).  Specifically, I'm thinking of building a 'stache of 15 days of food and water, a small amount of cash on hand, and don't let my gas tank below 1/2. 

Thoughts?

Wait a minute, if you were planning for a major disaster, a disaster big enough to necessitate massive long term planning, and a scenario that includes governmental break down, why would you be averse to debt?  If you were playing the odds and thought this might happen, shouldn't you be loading up on debt?

[bognish]

I had a co-worker who was a tin foil hat type prepper. He told me how he had years of food and water supplies and tens of thousands of rounds of ammo to defend his stash. When he asked me how I prepared I told him that I kept notes of all of my Mormon neighbors like him that like to brag about their food stashes but avoid caffeine. My stash was a 20 lb bag of coffee. I suggested that all I needed to do was make it a few days for them all to get exhausted trying to defend their houses 24/7 and then slip in quietly while they slept. His reation was entertaining and he stopped bragging about how much food was in his basement.

In reality I have a wife who can't pass up a good deal on bulk food at Costco, a stream walking distance from the house, and camping supplies to rough it for a while.

[jmusic]

So I've been on here awhile, but I just stumbled across another community that is all about preparing for disasters up to and including the breakdown of government.  It seems to me that they have a **FEW** things in common with the frugal mindset on here (self-reliance, and the aversion to debt).

Since I'm already debt free (renting though) and have a 'stache of $60K, I'm thinking that it would be prudent to take a few baby steps toward that mentality (though I fully realize that this particular rabbit-hole can go deep into "tin foil hat wearing nutzoid" territory).  Specifically, I'm thinking of building a 'stache of 15 days of food and water, a small amount of cash on hand, and don't let my gas tank below 1/2. 

Thoughts?

Wait a minute, if you were planning for a major disaster, a disaster big enough to necessitate massive long term planning, and a scenario that includes governmental break down, why would you be averse to debt?  If you were playing the odds and thought this might happen, shouldn't you be loading up on debt?

The idea is to keep all stores in your house and limit legal claims on it (like a mortgage).  The alternative is to leverage to the hilt and plan to go mobile, but that limits how much you can carry.

[jmusic]

I had a co-worker who was a tin foil hat type prepper. He told me how he had years of food and water supplies and tens of thousands of rounds of ammo to defend his stash. When he asked me how I prepared I told him that I kept notes of all of my Mormon neighbors like him that like to brag about their food stashes but avoid caffeine. My stash was a 20 lb bag of coffee. I suggested that all I needed to do was make it a few days for them all to get exhausted trying to defend their houses 24/7 and then slip in quietly while they slept. His reation was entertaining and he stopped bragging about how much food was in his basement.

In reality I have a wife who can't pass up a good deal on bulk food at Costco, a stream walking distance from the house, and camping supplies to rough it for a while.

Your point is absolutely valid.  The whole point of having guns, etc. is to be able to defend supplies, so WHY THE HELL BRAG ABOUT IT?!??  It's the same reason why we don't brag about the sizes of our 'stache (some people immediately stick their hand out). 

In the military, a common saying is "Loose lips sink ships." 

[Retire-Canada]

Wait a minute, if you were planning for a major disaster, a disaster big enough to necessitate massive long term planning, and a scenario that includes governmental break down, why would you be averse to debt?  If you were playing the odds and thought this might happen, shouldn't you be loading up on debt?

Yup. You'd want to buy all your ammo, guns, generators, millions of gals of gas, a huge underground storage tank, etc... with loans. When the gov't goes belly up or the internet tubes blow up your loan is history and ain't nobody gonna collect on a debt unless they gots bigger guns then us! ;)

-- Vik

[BarkyardBQ]

Wait a minute, if you were planning for a major disaster, a disaster big enough to necessitate massive long term planning, and a scenario that includes governmental break down, why would you be averse to debt?  If you were playing the odds and thought this might happen, shouldn't you be loading up on debt?

Yup. You'd want to buy all your ammo, guns, generators, millions of gals of gas, a huge underground storage tank, etc... with loans. When the gov't goes belly up or the internet tubes blow up your loan is history and ain't nobody gonna collect on a debt unless they gots bigger guns then us! ;)

-- Vik

Isn't that 'market timing'? :)

[Retired To Win]

... I just think that I've gotten lackadaisical about it (as have a lot of folks).  I haven't been keeping any extra cash, food, water, or gas, as I have assumed that all will be in easy reach.  During just about any adverse scenario, at least one of these assumptions will be proven false.

Living through Hurricane Andrew cured me of that illusion!  Picture having to drive from Miami to Palm Beach in order to find a place to buy drinking water (and be able to fuel up the car).  And doing the Miami part of the driving WITHOUT ANY WORKING TRAFFIC LIGHTS.  And going an entire week-plus with no electric power.  And absolutely no open stores (unless you schlepped up to Palm Beach).  Thank goodness I did not have to go through that scenario up in the northeast in the middle of winter after a bad winter storm.

Shit happens, folks.  And it's got nothing to do with tin hats.

[Thegoblinchief]

Curious if anyone in this thread has built the most traditional form of food storage/prep: a root cellar. I'm hoping to have enough to build for this winter, for sure by next winter. I'll be building mine as a partition of the basement vented to the outside.

[Moonwaves]

I've never had a place of my own to do it but Root Cellaring is a firm favourite of mine for when I do. What got me started on it is an old blog. Just had a look and it's still up: http://omelays.blogspot.de/ - on the right-hand side there are links to the root cellar plans and construction. Unfortunately, they ended up leaving their Ozarks property about a year later so I don't think there were many, if any, mentions of how it was to actually use but thought you might be interested in seeing it.

[Retire-Canada]

Isn't that 'market timing'? :)

That's true, but if you "believe" the Gov't is going to collapse in the next decade or two you might as well go all in.

If you are wrong declare bankruptcy. It's doubtful the bank is coming for you assault shotgun, 200,000 shells or 80,000lbs of dehydrated mashed potatoes.

-- Vik

[Retired To Win]

... I have a question for those further along in prepping: recommended water filtration for a family of 5?

I plan to store at least a few days worth of rotated tap water in Coleman 5 gallon water jugs but in my current house my long-term water outage options would be filtering rainwater off an asphalt roof or biking down to a river and filtering that.

I keep forgetting that having one's own well is not the norm.  We've had a well in our last 3 houses, and that is our source of water now and would be in any foreseeable circumstances.  Still...

In our basement, we have the array of 5-gal Coleman containers full of water...

And we have the 600-gallon cistern that collects water off the gutters of our polebarn's metal roof.

And, yep, my wife just informed me with a weird look in her eyes that, of course, we have a supply of carbon filters to process the water should it ever get to that.  So, there.  Cheap (under $35) and easy to use carbon/ceramic filters originally developed by Texas Baptist Men's Water Ministry (www.monolithic.org)  for use in Haiti after that devastating hurricane they had a few years back.

(And, yea, I just got yelled at for not already knowing.)

Knock yourself out.

[Syonyk]

How are you powering the well pump?

[bondo]

I wondered how long this post would run before the rednecks showed up - kinda like the zombies.
[/quote]

I wondered how long it would take the leftys to come out with some racial slurs...    Acceptance of all race and religions, as long as they are not successful white gun owners. 

MOD NOTE: Cut it out. Thanks.

[louloulou]

Having lived through a large natural disaster, I would say the biggest lesson I took from it was to have cash and petrol. Cards are useless with no electricity and so are petrol  pumps. So I now keep a few hundred dollars cash and some tins of petrol. I have been slowly setting up our caravan so if we ever have another disaster, we could live in it for a short time.

[jzb11]

I wondered how long this post would run before the rednecks showed up - kinda like the zombies.

I'm curious, what part of being an engineer from the Midwest who has traveled to twenty five different countries and is currently working on an international assignment in South America equates to me being a redneck?

For the record, I am also a gun owner, and a fan of the AR platform. I'm much closer to what you'd call "metro".

However, despite my familiarity with and fondness of the AR platform, I would rather use a shotgun inside of the home. Unmatched lethality under 10 yards, and substantially easier to hit a target with under stress. Then there's over penetration: I live in a row of townhouses.

A shotgun is much more punishing to shoot than an AR, is more likely to over pentrate than an AR, and has much less capacity as well. On penetration:

As for the rounds, with proper ammo selection the 5.56 rounds have less penetration of walls and barriers than some of today’s modern handgun ammunition. You can go up to some of the 70 grain TSX loads and still have less penetration than some of those hot pistol loads, and it’s going to expend a lot of energy through those intermediate barriers and start breaking up almost immediately - steve fisher - from the article.

I'm sorry, but this question has been tested repeatedly, and what I have said above is supported by those tests: http://www.theboxotruth.com/the-box-o-truth-14-rifles-shotguns-and-walls/

Even fragmenting rounds will penetrate four sheetrock walls easily. Likely more if they had set up more walls for the test. Only birdshot from a shotgun was safe to fire indoors without fear of massive over-penetration.

You'll see less penetration with a round like Hornady TAP, which is a type of round that Fisher is talking about in the quote:

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2012/03/ryan-finn/sheetrock-penetration-testing-take-1/

http://how-i-did-it.org/drywall/results.html

Birdshot is for Birds, not for people. If your goal is lethality, you should be using slugs or 00 buck, not birdshot. Thus you will over penetrate with your shotgun, and as stated as before your shotgun is more punishing to shoot than an AR and lacks capacity.

A pistol will penetrate more than an AR with TAP.

A shotgun is an excellent HD weapon, no doubt about it. But I'd argue that an AR offers more advantages, especially for women, and especially in a scenario where there may be multiple home invaders.

[BBub]

But I'd argue that an AR offers more advantages, especially for women, and especially in a scenario where there may be multiple home invaders.

You wouldn't want to argue that with my wife.  Girl can hit a limit of quail with a .410. 

[pivots head over shoulder and rings spitoon. ping]

[Thegoblinchief]

Moonwaves on the root cellar, I've read "Root Cellaring" by Bubel, which is the definitive guide. I was just curious if any Mustachians had one, as it's something that really appeals to me, as sheltering in place is much more likely to be needed in my area than evacuation of any kind.

Retired to Win I've been meaning to ask this at some point, but are there any resources for DIY cisterns or rain barrels that aren't as expensive per gallon of catchment as rain barrels usually are?

gun folks - no offense, but STFU. You're not advancing the thread at all. I don't care if folks are pro or anti gun, it makes no difference to my own self - defense prep, but at this point it's unnecessary noise detracting from the meat of this thread.

[asauer]

I started "prepping" after a giant ice storm knocked out our power for two weeks a couple of years ago.  It was fast and unexpected and I was on the road home when it happened.  Took me 7 hours to drive 20 miles.  Anyway, that scared the shit out of me so here's what I have in place now:
1. two- three weeks worth of food
2. 20 gallons of water stored
3. water filters
4. alternative toilet/ sanitation arrangements
5. extra fuel for camp stove/ grill
6. big car emergency kit
7. tons of batteries
8. home made solar panel for laptop and cell charging
9. I never let my gas tank get below 1/2 full

I hope that never happens again.  But at least I know we'll be OK for a while if it does.

[asauer]

I'm no moderator, but let's get back on track. Firearms threads are at-best an "agree to disagree" proposition.

I have a question for those further along in prepping: recommended water filtration for a family of 5?

I plan to store at least a few days worth of rotated tap water in Coleman 5 gallon water jugs but in my current house my long-term water outage options would be filtering rainwater off an asphalt roof or biking down to a river and filtering that.

We have a Berkey for the house but I use a sweetwater filter for extended backpacking trips (usually 7 days) and it works very well and is a bit less expensive.

[BBub]

Sorry Chief - I was just trying to make a joke, and I'll stop egging on the derailment.  I am actually into preparedness & the topic interests me.  Just got a little distracted & it was too easy to chime in with a gun quip. 

I don't identify as a prepper, but I'm reasonably prepared to ride out any short term disaster... enough food, water, cash, fuel, first aid, general supplies on hand to make it comfortably for a few weeks if necessary.

[Thegoblinchief]

Even though I'm not the OP, I've found this thread really interesting and valuable. Disasters and outages are pretty rare here but it's something we need to be better about.

I've attempted to distill the advice here and my own thoughts and reading into a condensed plan. It's tailored for my needs, but perhaps others like me who haven't begun prepping much will find this helpful. Please critique or comment!

Note: tried to organize this by priority. Feel free to chime in/comment/question

Water

-1 week of stored tap water (2g/pp/day in adult equivalents would be ~45 gallons). Cost: $125
-Add rainwater catchment (rain barrel or cistern solution) → cost needs researching
-Add portable filtration, such as the Sawyer squeeze ($40) or larger gravity filters ($100-$150)
-Add non-portable filtration for house, such as Berkey ($250)

Sanitation

-instead of having extra water to flush toilet, use humanure toilet ($50-75 to build) and existing composting facilities

Food/Cooking

-I think our current trajectory of bulk/storing food takes care of supply but we need more cooking options.
-Grill: increase stored charcoal on hand
-purchase/build a rocket stove ($50-120)
-purchase a propane/white gas stove ($40 and up)
-purchase dehydrator (already planned for May 2015)
-Pressure canner to rely less on frozen meat and non-acid veggies? (Either 15 qt For $~190 or 30qt for $280 seems to be the best sizes for our use.)

Light

-candles or crankable flashlights/lanterns?
-headlamps?

Power

-Light/power can be combined with this: http://www.rei.com/product/882606/goal-zero-lighthouse-250-led-lantern-with-switch-8-power-hub
-Cooking and power could be combined with this: http://www.rei.com/product/846334/biolite-wood-burning-campstove
-Another option for home outages is a heavy-duty inverter for the car. (Example is the 1000W continuous/2400W peak Bestek inverter ($~75))

Transport

-Keep bikes in good repair
-Keep minimum of ½ tank in van

Total SHTF

-carefully frozen seed bank of core staples (particularly flour corn, tomatoes, and dry legumes).
-Increase permaculture plantings (research/planning ongoing). Crops I want to add are apples, Ukrainian almonds, elderberries, seaberries, hardy kiwi, honeyberry, and Siberian peashrubs. Currently my garden is mostly annual plantings, but Mark Shepard's book has convinced me to expand my permaculture. Hybrid hazelnuts and chestnuts are possible but wouldn't bear for long/at all before we move.
-have breeding stock of dual purpose chickens and ducks, and pig breed(s) that can thrive on forage (not possible in city)
-learn hunting/fishing and wildcrafting

On the SHTF scenario, it's somewhat likely we will become the managers of a medium acreage property that will be the refuge for a large amount of extended family in the next 5-7 years. 200 acres but with many potential relatives to shelter. In that scenario, I will only have 40 acres directly controlled ahead of time, but would want an expansion plan to immediately take over the remaining 160, since in SHTF the existing land tenant would be basically crippled (heavily mechanized farmer)

[EricL]

Moonwaves

gun folks - no offense, but STFU. You're not advancing the thread at all. I don't care if folks are pro or anti gun, it makes no difference to my own self - defense prep, but at this point it's unnecessary noise detracting from the meat of this thread.

Thank you. 

[Retired To Win]

Even though I'm not the OP, I've found this thread really interesting and valuable. Disasters and outages are pretty rare here but it's something we need to be better about.

I've attempted to distill the advice here and my own thoughts and reading into a condensed plan. It's tailored for my needs, but perhaps others like me who haven't begun prepping much will find this helpful. Please critique or comment!...

Thank you for the very useful checklist, GoblinChief...

You made me realize that I have unintentionally -- and sometimes intentionally -- already gathered quite a few of the items on your list:  portable propane 3-burner and oven stove... gutter-fed cistern... water purification unit... dehydrator (!)... meat smoker... headlamps... crankable lights...oil lamps... candle supply... kerosene lanterns... inverter (!)... propane backup generator... chicken egg incubator (!)... and backyard livestock.

[libertarian4321]

Could never understand the Preppers aversion to debt. If your expecting total collapse at anytime might as well run up some bills?

Not expecting collapse, but being prepared in the event that it does occur. 

And it doesn't have to be an "end of the world as we know it" thing, it may be just being prepared in case of flood, hurricane, wild fire, whatever.  Having cash on hand will be very important in that scenario.

I don't go overboard with this, but I do some prepping.  I keep my truck always at least half full of gas.  I have containers of food, water, supplies, etc in a place where I can easily load them in the back of my truck in a short period of time and get out quickly.  The truck has a camper top that will serve as a mobile shelter.

To those mustachians who go berserk whenever someone mentions that they drive a TRUCK, your bicycle/Prius will not get the job done.

Got the idea years ago from a Mormon/LDS friend of mine.  Apparently, they are required to keep a year's worth of food stored at their homes.

[Arzosah]

I'm new .... but I do a bit of prepping, in UK terms at least.

Even though I'm not the OP, I've found this thread really interesting and valuable. Disasters and outages are pretty rare here but it's something we need to be better about.

I've attempted to distill the advice here and my own thoughts and reading into a condensed plan. It's tailored for my needs, but perhaps others like me who haven't begun prepping much will find this helpful. Please critique or comment!

Note: tried to organize this by priority. Feel free to chime in/comment/question

Thanks for this!  Snipping in now ...

-1 week of stored tap water (2g/pp/day in adult equivalents would be ~45 gallons). Cost: $125

That sounds a *lot* of money simply to store tap water, I find that puzzling.  Is that the containers?

-Add rainwater catchment (rain barrel or cistern solution) → cost needs researching
-Add portable filtration, such as the Sawyer squeeze ($40) or larger gravity filters ($100-$150)

I have a filter fit for camping, and two water butts (though the butts aren't connected to the drainpipes, the taps are wonky and the placement of the drainpipes is wrong).

-instead of having extra water to flush toilet, use humanure toilet ($50-75 to build) and existing composting facilities

In the UK you'll see a lot of mention of cat litter in a heavy plastic bag ...

-purchase/build a rocket stove ($50-120)

I have one more or less built - it just needs the top of the insulating vermiculite to be made secure.  Made it myself for the cost of the vermiculite, about £4 GBP.

-purchase dehydrator (already planned for May 2015)

I have a little halogen oven (like a really big mixing bowl with an electric gizmo on top) commonly available here for £25 or so, it has a defrost setting that can act like a dehydrator.  Plus I'm making one, again with things I've found skipdiving/dumpsterdiving.

-candles or crankable flashlights/lanterns?

Yep.

Everything I've planted in my average-sized UK garden (20 feet by 35 feet!) is edible or a medicinal herb.  Still looks pretty.

-learn hunting/fishing and wildcrafting

Hunting isn't really relevant to the south east of England :) though there's a few deer, and quite a lot more rabbits. 

On the SHTF scenario, it's somewhat likely we will become the managers of a medium acreage property that will be the refuge for a large amount of extended family in the next 5-7 years. 200 acres but with many potential relatives to shelter. In that scenario, I will only have 40 acres directly controlled ahead of time, but would want an expansion plan to immediately take over the remaining 160, since in SHTF the existing land tenant would be basically crippled (heavily mechanized farmer)

Wow!  Prepping really is on a different scale in the US!  I got into it all by accident - I kept getting viruses that lasted for 2 months, I was extremely debilitated, so it made sense to have a good stock of food in the house. 

I do have a few things on my keyring that are a bit prepster, but one is a really good idea - a seatbelt cutter, if you're in a car accident and your seatbelt won't open, and a tiny flatheaded screwdriver - I mended my sister's glasses, rather than interrupt a holiday finding an optician.  I love Real Life Prepping.

HTH.

[jmusic]

OP here.  Part of the reason I haven't been taking this stuff seriously before is that I live in SoCal, meaning natural disasters are few and far between.  We get an earthquake every few years but most of those don't actually cause any service outages.

Goblin- sounds like you're pretty far ahead of the curve even in a SHTF scenario.  However, security would become a real concern given the size and potential desireability of your land.  Not meaning to reopen the gun convo, but just sayin'.

On the SHTF scenario, it's somewhat likely we will become the managers of a medium acreage property that will be the refuge for a large amount of extended family in the next 5-7 years. 200 acres but with many potential relatives to shelter. In that scenario, I will only have 40 acres directly controlled ahead of time, but would want an expansion plan to immediately take over the remaining 160, since in SHTF the existing land tenant would be basically crippled (heavily mechanized farmer)

Wow!  Prepping really is on a different scale in the US!  I got into it all by accident - I kept getting viruses that lasted for 2 months, I was extremely debilitated, so it made sense to have a good stock of food in the house. 

It sounds like he has a fairly unique scenario, and is not representative of 99% of the population.  Most Americans aren't even prepared for something on the scale of Hurricane Katrina. 

Edit:  Woohoo!  My first thread to reach 3 pages! :)

[Thegoblinchief]

Goblin- sounds like you're pretty far ahead of the curve even in a SHTF scenario.  However, security would become a real concern given the size and potential desireability of your land.  Not meaning to reopen the gun convo, but just sayin'.

We're interested in homesteading anyways, but one possible piece of land we'll end up will have us being the managers of a family farm that's in the family still only because my dad and his sisters were attracted to keeping land precisely for a SHTF scenario (otherwise the rental income doesn't even keep up with inflation), not that any of them are preppers at all. So I'd have to keep my extended family in mind.

-1 week of stored tap water (2g/pp/day in adult equivalents would be ~45 gallons). Cost: $125

That sounds a *lot* of money simply to store tap water, I find that puzzling.  Is that the containers?

Yeah. 5 gallon plastic square jugs. They will also get used for camping, though not THAT much water.

-instead of having extra water to flush toilet, use humanure toilet ($50-75 to build) and existing composting facilities

In the UK you'll see a lot of mention of cat litter in a heavy plastic bag ...
[/quote]

I'm already interested in a humanure toilet for nutrient cycling back into the garden, after aging a minimum of 1 year to eliminate all possible residual human pathogens.

Wow!  Prepping really is on a different scale in the US!  I got into it all by accident - I kept getting viruses that lasted for 2 months, I was extremely debilitated, so it made sense to have a good stock of food in the house. 

Yeah, not really, as jmusic noted above, but as someone who's interested in homesteading and going back-to-the-land, resiliency is an interest of mine. Especially when I know very few others in the community do this, so it's possible I could be of service to others.

[Syonyk]

Got the idea years ago from a Mormon/LDS friend of mine.  Apparently, they are required to keep a year's worth of food stored at their homes.

Generally it's expected to be a minimum of 3 months, hopefully growing to a year over time (but keep that time fairly short).  The Mormon families I know take food storage really very seriously, and are a good resource for how to store stuff, if you care to keep stuff stored for longer periods of time.

Given their history and the places they've set up camp (Utah), this is entirely reasonable, and it's really not that hard.  Storing a few months of food doesn't take that much money or space, and it gives you SO many more options if things go bad.

Wow!  Prepping really is on a different scale in the US!  I got into it all by accident - I kept getting viruses that lasted for 2 months, I was extremely debilitated, so it made sense to have a good stock of food in the house.

We've got enough land to be able to do stuff like that.  Not many people work on that scale, but a few do.  And it's something that can be done easily enough if you want to do it.

I think there's also a somewhat stronger mistrust of the government in the US than the UK (I could be wrong, since I don't talk politics with many people in the UK).  We've seen just what a mess government "help" makes, and a lot of people don't want to be subject to that.

Yeah, not really, as jmusic noted above, but as someone who's interested in homesteading and going back-to-the-land, resiliency is an interest of mine. Especially when I know very few others in the community do this, so it's possible I could be of service to others.

Yup.  Appropriate technology and such is great fun to work with.

[Arzosah]

I'm already interested in a humanure toilet for nutrient cycling back into the garden, after aging a minimum of 1 year to eliminate all possible residual human pathogens.

Something like it used to be called an outhouse, I suppose.  I've got that humanure book in a pdf download, its absolutely wonderful.

We've got enough land to be able to do stuff like that.  Not many people work on that scale, but a few do.  And it's something that can be done easily enough if you want to do it.

Very true, about the amount of land, in our respective countries!  Prices seem to be a *lot* lower over there, and that helps.

I think there's also a somewhat stronger mistrust of the government in the US than the UK (I could be wrong, since I don't talk politics with many people in the UK).  We've seen just what a mess government "help" makes, and a lot of people don't want to be subject to that.

I think a lot of people in the UK probably distrust all *politicians*, rather than the government.  It makes us a bit quieter about it all, at the moment anyway.  Did you guys here about the referendum in Scotland on Scottish independence?  I'm English in England, but a few of my friends are Scottish in Scotland, campaigning long and hard for the independence vote - the enthusiasm, and the high regard in which the Scottish National Party was/is held, is astonishing - believing politicians!  It felt like I was 18 again ...

As for appropriate technology, there's an amazing place at an old quarry in Wales: http://www.cat.org.uk/index.html.  They're not preppers, they're alternative lifestylers, but anyone interested in self reliance and reducing food miles (and MMM is very concerned about that in the blog), thats the place to start in the UK, though there's a lot of local places too now.